It’s always interesting… the things that stick with you. I was reading a lovely little book about Maud Montgomery‘s inspiration for Anne of Green Gables, and somehow I became totally enthralled with Evelyn Nesbit, a young turn-of-the-century ingenue whose picture inspired the image of Anne, and whose career ended tragically after the murder of her lover, architect Stanford White. I mentioned Evelyn to Brie, who made her the Icon of the Week.
Along with many before me, I count Evelyn as a muse, my Room Muse.
The short of the Evelyn and Stanford story is this: young model is introduced to acclaimed architect, he invites her to his apartment where the two share dinner and champagne before he gives her a tour of his place, ending in the Mirror Room. The Mirror Room held a green velvet couch and the walls and ceilings were covered with mirrors. It was right next to the room with a red velvet swing. Evelyn stated that she “entered the room a virgin but did not come out as one.” Years later, her husband shot Stanford White three times at close range at the theatre. Still Evelyn noted Stan as “the only man she’d ever loved.”
I imagine Evelyn in her dressing room. Throwing open the doors of her antique wardrobe searching for a dress as beautiful as she. She would empty the contents of her boudoir over her settee and become distracted by her vanity mirror. On a side table, Evelyn would have a collection of milk glass, as pure as she and a set of pewter goblets, worthy of a princess. Before leaving for the evening, she might stand in front of her mirror, lit with theatre lighting from behind. She’d stare into her own eyes, her own soul, aware that she might return a different person.
Images: Antique wardrobe via Tara Shaw/First Dibs, vanity mirror via Elle W/First Dibs, milk glass via Racheal Herbert, pewter goblets via FQ Merchantile, mirror via Pat Monroe/First Dibs, theatre light via Reclaimed Enjoyment.
